The Civil Rights Movement and the Shifting Consensus in 1960s America

Civil Rights and Shifting Consensus in the 1960s

Introduction

The 1960s (expanded to 1954-1968, from Brown v. Board to the 1968 election) were marked by significant shifts in civil rights, characterized by both consensus-driven inclusion and a rejection of that consensus.

Consensus Politics vs. Rejection of Consensus

Consensus Politics

• Relied on a broad, shared Americanism that was supposedly moral and inclusive (racially, geographically). This approach sought inclusion into the existing system.
• Employed tactics like dressing presentably, politely requesting service to highlight the injustice of exclusion. Demonstrated consensus participation to expose the violence and hypocrisy of those who opposed inclusion.

Rejection of Consensus

• Argued that the consensus was a sham, a form of conformity that hid abuses in various sectors, including: the Jim Crow South, the California Valley grape growers, city policies, policing policies, and urban policies.
• Sought something entirely different from the existing structure.

Regionalism and the Re-emergence of Distinct Identities

Gilded Age Regionalism

• The US had distinct regions: the South, the North, the West, and Appalachia, each with different politics, cultures, and expectations.

Post-WWII Consensus

• The 1930s-1950s attempted to create a broad Americanism, diminishing regional distinctions.

Civil Rights Movement's Impact

• Reintroduced regional awareness by highlighting the disparities between American ideals and realities, such as the Jim Crow South and the conditions in California's Great Valleys.

The Language of Americanism

McCarthyism

• Defined "un-American" as sexual deviancy, political deviancy, and childhood delinquency.

Civil Rights Movement's Reinterpretation

• Redefined "American" as racially inclusive, thus branding segregationist violence as "un-American."

Cultural Shifts and the Role of Music

Popular Culture's Impact

• Popular culture, especially music, began to combine regional cultures.
• Examples: race and hillbilly music were recorded in northern studios for northern audiences.

Musical Responses to the Consensus

• Music served as a response to the consensus, civil rights issues, and regional disparities.
• Examples include Bob Dylan's commentary on changing times and distrust.
• Nina Simone expressed the perspective of those excluded from Americanism, questioning the pace of change and whether the South could be shamed into progress.

Dancing in the Street

• Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" embodies multiple meanings: celebration, culture, festival, protest, and riot, all within the public space of the street.

California: A Unique Cultural and Political Space

Potential vs. Reality

• California was seen as quintessentially American or a different form of Americanism with both promise and harsh realities.

The California Dream

• Cultural narrative of California promised a garden of Eden, but only for those with money, a theme reinforced in the 1960s.

Destination for the Disaffected

• Became a destination for disaffected white suburban youth seeking to reinvent themselves and Americanism.

Sunset Strip Riots

• Strict curfews led to protests and police violence, highlighting the contrast between the imagined and real California.
• Buffalo Springfield's music reflected these realities.

Evolving Musical and Cultural Landscape

Transformation of Music Genres

• Traditional blues, ragtime evolved into gospel, folk, race, hillbilly, and jazz.
• By the 1940s-50s, this transformed into country and western, wholesome folk, rebellious rockabilly, and teen-oriented rock and roll.
• Bebop jazz and Hollywood noir represented rebellious cultural forms, while television remained conformist.

The 1960s

• Saw a folk revival, where old and new songs addressed contemporary politics (Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan).
• The British Invasion attempted to sanitize southern working-class music but became rebellious.
• Motown and Nina Simone emerged, blending jazz and classical music.

The Cold War Consensus and the Rise of Misfits

Questioning the Status Quo

• The Cold War was based on consensus, but by the 1960s, there was a growing sense of misfits challenging the status quo.
• The status quo itself was questioned, especially if it was deemed wrong.

Early Civil Rights

• Appealed to morality and inclusion, identifying places outside the consensus like the Jim Crow South and California valleys.

Growing Skepticism

• Increasingly, people questioned the existence and desirability of the consensus.
• Civil rights advocates were told to go slow and build trust, but skepticism grew about whether this approach would work.

Challenges to the Consensus: Southern Backlash and Cultural Critique

Southern Resistance

• Figures like Wallace represented southern backlash against civil rights, prompting questions about whether this was an anomaly or a deeper issue.

Cultural Critique

• Artists like Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez offered cultural critiques not just of the South but of society as a whole.
• Nina Simone rejected the idea of gradual change and expressed a deep distrust.

Iconography of the Civil Rights Movement

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

• Intentional use of middle-class attire (suits, dresses) to convey non-threatening, non-radical, integrated image.
• Behavior in lunch counters and the iconography of the bus boycott were carefully crafted.

Rosa Parks

• Portrayed as a tired, unassuming, older woman to evoke sympathy and underscore her non-radical nature.
• Contrast with Claudette Colvin, who was young, working-class, and pregnant, thus not fitting the desired image.

Cold War Narrative

• Emphasized Christian commitment, integrity, and non-intentionality to appeal to suburban Northerners.

Freedom Riders and School Integration

• Focused on the role of the state in protecting freedom riders and integrating schools.

Marches and Violence

• Focused on attire, location, and the reaction to violence (e.g., dog attacks, fire hoses) to create a clear narrative of victimhood and villainy (e.g., Bull Connor).

Shift Towards Working-Class Iconography

Emergence of Class Consciousness

• The use of work clothes (overalls, denim shirts) indicated a growing focus on class issues and poverty.
• Figures like King, Abernathy, and Shuttlesworth adopted this iconography.

Farm Workers Movement

• Mirrored the civil rights movement in its peaceful protests and marches, such as the march from Delano to Sacramento.

Questioning the Scope of the Problem

Beyond the South

• Raised questions about poverty and segregation beyond the South and California.

Critiques of Keynesian Spending

Keynesian Model

• State funnels money into the bottom of the economic pyramid to create employment, wages, and spending.

Emerging Critiques

• Michael Harrington's "The Other America" exposed the persistence of poverty, suggesting that money was not reaching the bottom of the pyramid effectively.

Proposed Solutions

• Advocated for more intentional federal spending in impoverished communities.

Northern Cities and Systemic Issues

Redlining, Blockbusting, and Restrictive Covenants

• Practices that perpetuated poverty and segregation in northern cities.

The State as the Problem

• Identified issues such as police violence and ghettoization as problems the state perpetuated.

The Great Society and the War on Poverty

LBJ's Approach

• Aimed to fix poverty through better, more targeted Keynesian spending.

Focus Areas

• Concentrated on black poverty in northern inner cities and white poverty in Appalachia, however, black poverty was concentrated on in the North.

Housing Projects

• Used housing projects as a means to inject money into impoverished areas.

Unintended Consequences

• This approach worsened police violence, concentrated poverty, and reinforced racial segregation.
• Examples: Pruitt-Igoe projects in St. Louis became symbols of failure.

Protests and Uprisings

Harlem (1964), Watts (1965), Cicero (1966)

• Protests against policing and segregation highlighted the depth of the problem.

Cicero March

• Civil rights marchers met with violent opposition in a white neighborhood, demonstrating that the issue was not limited to the South.

Shifting Attitudes

• Marchers began to resist and fight back.

The Rise of Black Power

Stokely Carmichael and SNCC

• Shifted focus from inclusion and sympathy to the need for black power.
• Rejected King's nonviolence strategy, arguing that the US lacked a conscience.

Alternative Movements

• Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense rejected the consensus and advocated for self-defense against the police.

Iconography of Defiance

• The Black Panthers defied consensus norms through clothing, hair, and armed resistance.

Influence and Spread

• The Black Power movement influenced the Chicano movement (Chicano identity, pride) and the American Indian Movement (AIM: seizure of federal land, occupation of Wounded Knee).

Rainbow Coalition

• A brief alliance in Chicago between the Black Panthers, Young Lords (Puerto Rican), and Young Patriots (poor white Appalachian migrants).

Collapsing Consensus and Counterculture

Suburban Disillusionment

• White, middle-class teens rejected the consensus and conformity.

Free Speech Movement

• Challenged restrictions on free speech, particularly at UC Berkeley.

Counterculture

• The Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco became a center for counterculture, marked by changes in clothing and behavior.

Conclusion

The 1960s saw a growing fatigue with the consensus, with many feeling it was a lie. This sentiment was reflected in movements ranging from civil rights to counterculture, all questioning the core values and systems of American society.

Adding Vietnam

The sense of trust was deteriorating in terms of civil rights and poverty, the Vietnam War was also not going well.